The first part of Mr. Douglas's commission was com- 

 paratively simple; but the work of loading and trans- 

 porting over 700 head of wild buffalo a distance of six 

 hundred, and in the case of one shipment one thousand, 

 miles, presented many difficulties, and the small percent- 

 age of loss between the point of transportation and 

 delivery at the Canadian Parks bears testimony to the 

 perfection of the arrangements. 



To the courage and perseverance of Mr. Pablo in 

 pushing his contract to a successful conclusion in the face 

 of unimagined and trying obstacles, only brief, though 

 earnest, tribute can be paid here; the danger and romance 

 of these buffalo round-ups during the years 1907-11, 

 the skill and perseverance called into play thereby, and 

 the immensity of the undertaking generally cannot be 

 adequately dealt with in a brief general statement. 



During the year 1907 two shipments totalling 410 

 head were safely delivered in the Elk Island Park, Alberta, 

 a fenced enclosure, sixteen square miles in area, which 

 had been established shortly before for the protection of 

 elk and deer. This park was not considered suitable in 

 character, nor adequate in area for a buffalo herd of the 

 size in prospect, and an area of 162 square miles, now 

 known as Buffalo Park, was selected near Wainwright, 

 Alta, on the line of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, 

 and a galvanized steel wire fence constructed around it at 

 a cost of $60,000. The fence, which is nine feet high and 

 over seventy-four miles long, consists of fourteen strands, 

 strengthened with upright wires one foot apart, and is 

 furnished with several gates located at convenient points. 

 Over 25,000 posts and 1,700 miles of wure were used in 

 the construction of this fence. 



The government was fortunate, w^hen searching for 

 an additional grazing area, to find the lands comprised 

 in the present buffalo park still available, as it is a veri- 

 table ^'buffalo paradise," well watered by eighteen small 

 lakes, and produces a luxuriant growth of buffalo grass. 

 The land is rolling in character, and the many coulees 

 and bluffs of scrub timber afford ample protection in cold 

 weather. In fact Buffalo Park is an old-time buffalo 



38 



